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We’ve got another five days before TiVo makes their big announcement, but it appears that the TiVo Premiere leaks aren’t dying down between now and then. In fact, the Premiere DVR has shown up in Best Buy systems noting availability on March 27th for $299, with a Premiere XL version selling for $499 on the same date. From the looks of things, the Premiere will rock a 320GB hard drive, while the XL will have a full 1TB.

That’s all we have to go on for now, but this is certainly not enough to live up to the hype that TiVo is building around this announcement, what with their whole “Inventing the DVR was just a warmup” stance. We’ll see in a few days.

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Okay, TiVo, you are setting up your March 2 NYC announcement to be a pretty big deal when you use the words “Inventing the DVR was just a warmup” to get people to pay attention. That said, you’ve got our attention. We definitely know TiVo has something going on, what with the whole TiVo Premiere accidental leak a couple of months ago, and how their CES presence was pretty much relegated to invite-only status. So, what do we think will happen?

We are expecting the new TiVo Premiere box will launch, alongside a newly revamped menu system that will also be pushed out to TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD boxes (kind of like the new Xbox Experience dashboard refresh) that will be in full HD. We also expect that the interface might be made to be a bit more modular, to support apps, widgets, and all of that Internet-y goodness that people are into these days. We’ll know for sure on the 2nd of March, 6PM EST.

It’s been quite a while since TiVo has given us a new model of DVR, but a shipping error pretty much confirms that the company is set to launch a new device called TiVo Premiere (alongside the TiVo Premiere XL.) Recent TiVo HD purchaser Patrick McCarron had a TiVo Premiere setup guide included in his order, and he decided to throw the whole thing up on Scribed for our perusal. The main details here are the the S-Video port is out, and there is only space for one multistream CableCARD now, as opposed to the two slots found on the TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD.

Not much more is known about the TiVo Premiere at the moment, but we are crossing our fingers for a storage bump and beefier internal components that can power a new TiVo high definition interface. CES is just about a week away—we’ll be sure to stop and chat with the TiVo folks.

We got our hands on the Hauppauge HD PVR 1212 personal video recorder, and we bring you a review of this unit in this episode. The Hauppage HD PVR 1212 connects to your HDTV peripherals using component cable, and then goes out to your display over component as well. It captures the video output live, and records it to a computer, which will then let you edit that video. It is fantastic at recording video game sessions in full HD resolution, as we demonstrate in the video. Take a look, and if you want one, you can pick up the Hauppauge HD PVR 1212 on Amazon.

Okay, this is just getting ridiculous, because Netflix is just making Blockbuster look downright silly. Hot on the heels of debuting Netflix HD streaming on the Xbox 360, today TiVo and Netflix have announced the availability of Netflix HD streaming on all TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL DVRs. All you need to get this working is the free TiVo Fall Update (which you should already have) and a Netflix subscription. From there, just head into the new Video on Demand menu item on TiVo, and choose Netflix. Once selected, you’ll see a 4-character alphanumeric code. Plug that in over at www.netflix.com/activate, and you are in.

Our early tests even show that Netflix streaming on TiVo looks just a smidge better than the product on the Xbox 360 when a movie is playing (though, we like the interface more on the 360.) We eagerly await the next step in the home theater component domination that is the TiVo Watch Instantly service. If you’re interested, we’ve got the full press release, straight from TiVo, after the break.

Just a quick heads up - if you are looking to pick up a TiVo for yourself or a loved one this holiday season, look no further than the TiVo online store. If you act now, you can grab a refurbished TiVo HD for $179. In case you don’t know how good a deal that is, brand new ones sell for $299. At Costco, you can find them for $279. That’s a 40% discount, folks. The TiVo HD can record two shows at once on its dual-tuners, and can hold up to 20 hours of HD programming, or 180 hours of standard definition recordings.

Not your cup of tea? Need more storage? Well, you can go with the MyDVR Expander, which is a quick and easy way to add a ton of recording time, or you can grab a refurb TiVo Series3, which holds up to 32 hours of HD programming, for $349.

We knew it was just a matter of time before our friends at TiVo finally released something a little more, robust, to take the place of the discontinued TiVo Series3 DVR. While the TiVo HD is a nice unit, it just wasn’t the premium product that the Series3 was. The TiVo HD XL is all about taking that premium spot, and it certainly looks like a worthy replacement. The unit ships with a 1 terabyte hard drive, which means it can record up to 150 hours of HD programming, HDMI cable, along with a premium Series3 backlit TiVo remote. The TiVo HD XL features dual tuners, which lets you record two programs at the same time, and is even THX certified (something that the TiVo HD can’t brag about.) The one jarring piece here is the price, as the TiVo HD XL is selling for $599.99. If it’s worth it to you, you can order one right now at the TiVo website, or you can wait a few days and check your local retailer. We have the full press release for you after the break.

Let’s suppose your Aunt Linda died and left you a large part of her estate. You decide that you want to invest in a new home entertainment system but don’t have the room for it. Witness the SE2 Labs ICT One, an all-in-one system. In this small package is an Xbox 360, an HD PVR, an AMX Netlinx control system, a Bryston Digital Surround Processor, ICEpower D-Class amps, a 42-inch touchscreen, an iPod video dock, and a SE2 RF remote control to run the thing.

Take a deep breath and note that it also features a quiet cooling system with transparent cable power conditioning, an anti-noise and vibration system, and an easy connect rear panel. Take one more gasp as you thank your deceased relative for the $19,900.00 gift.

Sony announced in a Leipzig press conference a new digital tuner to be released in early 2008 for the PlayStation 3 that will allow it to display and record TV, effectively turning the console into a PVR. In addition to the PS3 recording and playback functionality, the tuner will also be able to transmit the signal locally or via WiFi to a PSP adding Slingbox-like capabilities to the accessory.

So far there has been no announcement of pricing of the unit, dubbed the PlayTV.